Movie Night: The Hunt for Popcorn
by Penelopi
Summary: The Gundam Force needs to entertain Guneagle before he causes trouble, but the flying Gundam is very particular.


**Author's Notes  
**

Ah, back from the pit of 2010 corniness! XD I've promised this fic for a long time, so I hope you all enjoy this silly fun adventure. It originally didn't have much plot on its own (which is part of why I removed it from _Little Wing_ ), so I spent a lot of time writing a whole new segment. You'll probably be able to tell what I added. Timeline-wise, this would take place sometime before Titan's first appearance.

 **Disclaimer**

SD Gundam Force is a product of Sunrise and Bandai. I created the OC Aleda present in this fanfic.

* * *

 _Movie Night: The Hunt for Popcorn_

"I'm bored," Guneagle complained. "Who wants to spray-paint the command deck?"

"Negative. That would be very disruptive to SDG's operations," Captain said. Then, he once more knocked the foosball ball so that its path formed a pattern across the table and back, to Shute's continued delight.

"Okay," Guneagle sighed. "Then what else do we do? I'm sooo bored!" He, Captain, Shute, Zero, and Baku lounged in the lounge: another laidback evening in a long series of quiet days empty of Dark Axis activity.

"Somebody think of something quick, before Guneagle blows up the entire base," Baku said with a roll of his eyes.

"Foosball?" Shute suggested.

"No, I'm bored with that," Guneagle said.

Captain released the foosball handles. "Training?"

"Um…well…"

"You do not wish to at this time. I understand," Captain said.

"Well, what _do_ you feel like?" Baku said impatiently.

Guneagle shrugged. "I don't know. Something fresh! Something we haven't done in a while."

The door slid open, and all seven Gundivers swarmed in, laughing and talking amongst themselves. One of them, Gundiver One, turned to Captain. "Hello, sir!"

"Hello, Gundivers," Captain said. "We are deciding how to occupy Guneagle. He is restless from lack of Dark Axis activity."

"Oh. Well…" Gundiver Five said, his eyes drifting across the room. "…He doesn't want to play air hockey?"

"No," Guneagle said flatly.

"How about a movie?" Four proposed cheerily.

Guneagle's eyes brightened. "Oh, yeah! Sure!" He rushed over to a cabinet under the television. "If I can't blow something up, I'll watch other people blow stuff up!" He began skimming through the titles. "No…No…No…"

The sliding doors retracted again to admit Aleda. Zero immediately pulled away from the conversation to greet the Lacroan Gundamess, as if she were a Gundamium magnet. "Milady, how goes this fine evening?" he asked.

"It's going well," she said with a smile. "I have everything ready for tomorrow morning, now."

Zero frowned: over an hour had passed since they had eaten dinner. "Milady, may I help you after dinner tomorrow? I hate to think of you cleaning after everyone by yourself."

"It's fine, Zero," the Gundamess assured him. "I like my job. Besides, I don't want to keep you from having fun with your friends."

"It's little trouble."

"It was just an hour," Aleda insisted.

"I could halve the time."

"If you even know what you're doing," Baku snidely interjected.

"Aha!" Their attention was snatched by a certain Neotopian flier.

"What?" All seven Gundivers asked, facing Guneagle.

The flier stood triumphantly holding a slim DVD case in the air. "The Matrix!" he exclaimed.

"That movie is rated R. It is not appropriate for Shute," Captain stated.

Guneagle drooped his head dejectedly. "That's the only one I saw with awesome explosions…"

"What are we doing?" Aleda inquired.

"We're choosing a movie to watch, milady," Zero said. "Would you like to join us?" Aleda nodded.

All eight Gundivers walked to the DVD shelves. "Hold on, there's not enough space to crowd around here!" Guneagle complained at the close quarters.

Zero turned from the distracting crowd to glance beside him and was surprised to find that his lady had slipped away. He spotted her wingtips behind the cluster of Gundivers and maneuvered around them to reach her. The Gundamess was holding something in her hands and observing it intensely. Zero reached her as Guneagle continued to protest the Gundiver mob. "Milady, has something caught your fancy?"

Aleda gave him a surprised look, blushing, and hurriedly clutched the video to her chest. "N-no, it's nothing."

"Please, milady, may I see it?" Zero coaxed. "I promise I shan't laugh."

She reluctantly peeled back her hands, revealing a sea-blue cover and a red-head mermaid. "…I wasn't thinking of watching it right now, I was just…looking at it. I watched it a lot when I was little…"

" _'The Little Mermaid,''_ " Zero read.

"Well, that one's okay…" Shute began, peering over Aleda's shoulder.

Zero started. "Where did you come from? And why are you looking over her shoulder?"

"What movie is that, again?" Guneagle said, also peering over the Gundamess's shoulder plates.

Zero's eyes flashed angrily. "Guneagle, you're violating the lady's space!"

"Alright, chill, knight dude!" Guneagle stepped around red-faced Aleda to see, instead. Zero continued to glare at him while he silently fumed. "What's it about?" the flirty target of Zero's wrath asked.

"It's cheesy and romantic," Shute said. "But it's funny, too. I watched it a few times when I was a kid."

"It doesn't look like it has any explosions."

"It has some at the very end," Shute said.

Many pairs of metal feet approached, and Aleda blinked and tensed her shoulders as the entire Gundiver squad clustered in around her and the movie. "I think I'd like this one. It's got sea creatures," said Two, while the rest nodded in hearty agreement.

"Well…I guess I could deal with that…" Guneagle conceded.

"There are eight for it. That's a majority vote, either way," Captain announced.

"And 'tis polite to let the lady decide," Zero added, pointedly nudging between Guneagle and the Lady.

"Then it's decided. Let's go!" Six declared. He grabbed the movie in Aleda's grip and slid it into the DVD player.

Everyone settled on the couches to watch. Baku plopped on the end of the left, angled couch that was closer to the T.V. Captain and Shute sat next to each other on the couch directly facing the screen, and Guneagle joined them, sitting on Captain's other side. The Gundivers began to pile into the same couch, but Zero protested, "Save room for Lady Aleda! You cannot push a woman to an inferior seat."

"There are plenty of other seats," Baku reminded them. The five of the Gundivers who'd sat down stood with a sigh and moved over to the only couch still empty. The other two took a seat on Baku's sofa.

Aleda, pink-faced, began to shyly approach the couch that Zero had so loudly claimed for her, with Zero beside her. Upon arrival, the lady hesitated, but the knight said, "Please, sit, milady."

Aleda planted herself next to Guneagle, making sure to leave enough room for one more Gundam. She met Zero's eye with an expectant, almost pleading look, but quickly glanced away. The Knight Gundam, having glimpsed the fleeting look, indulged himself.

When she sensed the depression in the cushions next to her, Aleda's energy-processing unit filled with little tickly butterflies. She kept her eyes glued ahead, resisting the urge to peek at her knight in spite of the warm aura emanating beside her. She fought the smile taking over her face. _Try not to look too happy._

Zero, observing how she avoided his gaze, questioned the wisdom of his choice. _Perhaps I have embarrassed her_ _?_ His gaze shifted to his lap. _Even if so, it would be too awkward to leave now…_

With a snap from Guneagle, the lights dimmed, and the movie started. It took less than two minutes for Guneagle to say, "What the heck?"

"Shh!" All seven Gundivers hissed, putting fingers to their mouthplates.

"But that fish is creepy! Its face is moving weird!"

"SHH!"

"Okay, okay…"

A couple minutes later, Captain gaped—his mouth sliding down to stay at the bottom of its motion track for several seconds—at the sight of Sebastian the crab extracting a huge music book from his small shell carriage. "That is physically impossible," he said in shock.

"It's a cartoon," Shute said with a laugh.

Still staring at the screen with shrunken pupils, Captain uttered, "I don't like cartoons. They confuse my logic circuits."

"Shh!" Baku hushed from the other couch.

Then a group of mermaid sisters sang, and Shute could not help but groan. "I forgot about this part."

"How much longer do we have to listen to this?" Guneagle whined.

"Not long," Aleda said. "The rest of the songs are better."

The movie-watching carried on in this way, with various amusing or irritating comments. Captain shook off his logic circuits after a while—or was it that they had numbed after being abused so often? Zero watched the tale with interest, eager to see the Neotopian perspective of magic. Baku laughed obnoxiously loud. For once, the Gundam Force was together, in relative peace, for something other than a battle.

However, someone could not let the night end without incident.

The screen froze just as Ariel and Eric leaned in close on a romantic boat ride. "What?" "Huh?"

Guneagle raised a hand; his other pressed the pause button on the remote. "Hey, guys, we're forgetting something!"

Sighs erupted among the Gundivers. "What is it?!"

"We forgot popcorn!"

"Popcorn?"

"You can't eat popcorn," Gundiver Two pointed out.

"No, but it's part of the experience!" Guneagle said. "We should get a bunch of popcorn and let Shute, Aleda, Zero, and Bonna Notte eat it!"

"I'm Bakunetsu—!"

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Guneagle turned to Aleda. "Do we have any? Oh—" He paused when his optical sensors took in the Gundamess sagging against Zero's side. "—well, you two are getting cozy~" he laughed, setting their faces on fire.

The Lacroans jerked apart, Zero flinging himself into the armrest and Aleda tucking in her arms to shrink herself. "I-It's not like that!" Zero protested. "There is so little space, that…!"

Baku laughed, "Words fail the Winged Knight!"

"Aw, come on, guys," Shute said, "I don't think they like you teasing them. Let's talk about the popcorn."

"Yes, is there any popcorn in the kitchen, milady?" Zero said quickly.

Aleda kept her rose-tinted face looking straight ahead. "I d-don't know. Maybe."

"Well, let's go see!" Guneagle leapt to his feet.

"Alright!" Shute stood, as did Captain and Baku. Zero and Aleda floated, drifting separately but, like flocking birds, inevitably drawing close to each other as the group moved towards the door.

"You guys comin'?" Guneagle called to the Gundivers.

Gundiver One waved him off. "No, thanks. We'll wait for you."

"'Kay."

The Gundams plus one arrived in the kitchen, where Aleda sifted through the pantry. "I don't think there's any," she finally reported.

"Aw, man!" Shute sighed.

"Isn't there anywhere else we can get it?" Guneagle begged.

"At the grocery store," Aleda said, turning slowly so as not to bump the close crowd with her wings.

"Alright, let's go!" Guneagle bolted for the door.

"Guneagle," Captain called, stopping the eager flier.

"Yes, sir?"

"We must convert to our civilian modes, first."

"Yes, sir!" Guneagle saluted. Under the restraint of his discipline, only his wings shuddered in excitement.

"Guneagle can do that, too?" Baku asked.

"Yes," Captain said. "But, this will be the first time that he has needed to use it."

"I'm ready to go to the Re-Equip bay whenever you are, sir!" Guneagle chirped.

"Let us go." Captain marched to the sliding doors, Guneagle bouncing into step behind him.

Zero rolled his eyes while sighing, "Oh, Mana, what mischief have we begun?"

...

Wingless Guneagle, smiling with his eyescreens rather than his inflexible exposed nutcracker-doll mouth, ran into the small shopping center. "Last one there is a rusty Zako!"

"Wait up!" Shute cried as he belted after him. Their energy infected the rest of the Gundam Force, and soon everyone, beaming, rushed across the empty and sparsely-lit parking lot in a swarm of glowing Gundam eyescreens and glinting armor.

Baku, laughing, bumped into his floating knight friend and knocked Zero into the Gundamess near him. The knight instinctively threw an arm around Aleda to steady her. "I'm sorry, milady!"

Aleda, blushing with the close touch, quickly said, "It's okay, sorry!"

"Why should you apologize?" Zero, releasing her as they continued to fly, fixed a glare on the samurai. "A certain rude someone can't keep from pushing others," he ended loudly.

"What? You can't take a little rough-housing, Zero?" Baku mocked.

"An elegant knight such as myself does not rough-house—"

"—with guys, sure, I get it." A dangerous flash glinted in Baku's brown eyes. "I bet you have no problems with a girl, though!" He paused his run to spring at Zero, again.

This time, Zero snatched Aleda and pulled them both out of the way. "You missed!" he jeered.

"And my point is made!" Baku pointed at the arm that Zero protectively cradled Aleda with.

The Winged Knight ignited. "Do not mock me for being a gentleman, you crass ruffian!"

A wail cut short their argument. "Nooooooooooo!" Guneagle moaned, holding his helm while gawking at a big, bold-lettered sign in the front double-doors reading _"Closed."_ Zero smoothly let go of Aleda while everyone was distracted by Guneagle's spectacle.

"Looks like we got here too late," Shute said glumly. "It says they close early on Saturdays."

"Let me search for another open grocery store," Captain said, raising his V-fins. After a moment of flashing, he said, "There is one remaining open grocery store at this day and time."

Guneagle raised his head. "Where?"

"15.92 kilometers southeast."

"Okay, I'm ready!" Guneagle readied for a run. "Let's go!"

"Wait."

"Sir?"

"It closes in fifteen minutes. We will not reach it in time."

"B-But...!"

"Aww, man!" Shute said. "I was getting excited about popcorn..."

"We need a car!" Guneagle said. "Captain, sir, can we request backup from Gunbike?"

"I don't know if this situation warrants—"

"But, we've spent all this time looking for popcorn, already!" Baku cut in. "I don't wanna go back empty-handed."

Captain hummed in thought.

"Please, Captain?" Shute begged.

"Alright..."

...

"Alright, whippersnappers," Gunbike growled as his three-wheeler frame braked in front of them, "figure this out fast, and know that you owe me for this spur-of-the-pants gallivantin'—!"

As he ranted, Shute wordlessly entered Gunbike's sidecar, Captain climbed into his seat, and Baku and Guneagle latched on the tail end.

"—what're you kids doin'?! Ya really think I'm gonna roll through town with ya tin cans holdin' onto my rear?!"

"Yes, we do," Zero said down to him. "You came all the way here."

"We appreciate it a lot, Gunbike," Guneagle said with a pat on his superior's frame. "We'd be very grateful and would never question you again, sir."

"Ah, really, now? Well, I guess I can manage it." Gunbike's engine revved. "Y'all'd better hold on, though, 'cause I'm gonna hafta work some speed demon magic ta get us there in time!"

"'Magic'?" Zero echoed in confusion.

The bike-bot shot off and skid-turned out of the parking lot in reply, eliciting alarmed squeals from his passengers (except Captain). Zero gawked at the speedy, unflinching left turn. "He must be really into it," Aleda commented with a tight giggle.

"That is one way to put it," Zero said. "Let us be after them, milady."

With a nod, Aleda fell into pace with the Winged Knight as he started flying.

Gunbike tore through the main street, veering to evade the cars ahead. Shute squeaked as they scraped past a semi a la the right shoulder—in this case, the sidewalk. "There is no one using this sidewalk space at the moment," Captain noted, "but, Gunbike, this is technically an illegal move."

Gunbike yanked them into the right-most legal lane again with a heavy thud over the curb. Baku and Guneagle squawked at the near-miss of the semi's front bumper. "Gunbike, watch it!" Guneagle yelled.

"Lemme tell y'all somethin', kids!" Gunbike snarled back. "I'm the driver, and ya dragged me out here for a pleasure cruise, so I'm gonna teach ya a lesson in respect! Hold tight, ya mutts, 'cause this is gonna be one—!"

"Look out!" Shute cried.

Gunbike veered around a pedestrian who forgot to look both ways, honking loudly. The man gasped and spun in the after-breeze, then shouted obscenities at the retreating Gundam Force. "It was his fault," Gunbike grumbled. "Careless civilians fixin' 'emselves ta get pancaked by half-a-ton o' Gundamium! Whadda they think they're made of?"

Zero and Aleda descended to them, falling into pace on the right so as to avoid oncoming traffic. "You seem to be having fun," Zero commented beside Baku.

"What do you mean, 'fun'?!" the samurai sputtered. "I've seen my life flash by my eyes three times, already!"

"Yer about ta see the sky flash by yer eyes, too, son!" Gunbike revved as they neared an exit. "We're takin' a shortcut! Hold on, tight, tin cans!"

Shute gulped, Baku cowered, and Zero placed a hand to Aleda's arm and slowed. Gunbike screeched around the ascending curve of the exit lane, raising his front wheel as they came to the peak. Baku and Guneagle yelped as flames burst through the exhaust pipes under their feet. "Cannonbaaaaaaaalllllll!" Gunbike rocketed over the rim of the overpass.

Screams filled the night, joints squeaked as they tensed, and knuckles whitened. Baku's eyes almost popped out of his helm. "Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

They sailed over a stream of cars and thudded heavily on a parallel road. "Aaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaaah! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Baku kept screaming even after they righted and weaved safely through honking cars.

Zero and Aleda rejoined them. "Did you know Gunbike could fly?" Zero snidely remarked.

"Shut up, Zero!" Baku screeched. "Just SHUT UP!"

The Winged Knight prepared another taunt, but it died before escaping his voicebox because of a vicegrip on his armguard. "Zero?" Aleda stared ahead, and Zero followed her gaze to the fast-nearing rear of a semi.

"Woah!" Zero grabbed her hand and yanked them in the lane behind Gunbike just before his helmet crest could graze the trailer. Aleda tingled with fright, and Zero panted as he focused his wide optical sensors on the road ahead.

"See?! Now, you know how it feels!" Baku shouted over Gunbike's engine.

"Pipe down, lugnuts! I'm tryin' ta concentrate, here!" Gunbike yelled. Then, "Aha! Here's our exit!" He veered, and Zero latched on the robotic bike so that he dragged the Lacroans with him as he jumped two lanes to the exit ramp.

Gunbike's harrowing ride dragged the rest of the Gundam Force into horrified silence. Several close scrapes, sharp turns, and hair-raising shaves later, they pulled into a small back-road shopping plaza containing a couple of shuttered buildings among its dingy stores.

And there it was: _Cheetah Mart_ , a small store tucked under a warehouse, its lights shining for them like a beacon in the night.

"There it is!" Shute whooped.

"Oh, no!" Guneagle squawked, his zoomed optical sensors following a young man within who wore a nametag and was walking towards the doors with a lanyard and keys in hand. "They're gonna close!" He smacked the side of Gunbike's chassis. "Hurry, Gunbike!"

Gunbike revved. "Next time ya touch me, fly-boy, I'm gonna missile yer rear right off this ride!"

The store entrance rapidly approached. Zero and Aleda started to slow, but Gunbike maintained speed. "Gunbike...?!" Shute began nervously.

"Bail out! Bail out!" Gunbike ordered as he swerved. "Go! Go! Go!"

Captain grabbed Shute, Baku leapt, and Guneagle dive-rolled on the concrete. As soon as they landed, the Gundams sprinted for the store—though Captain paused to carefully set down his best friend, first. Shute ran, panting, to keep pace with Captain as they caught up with their impulsive comrades.

Zero cruised in next to Baku. "Hurry! My mother can run faster than you!" he barked at the samurai.

"Your mother can fly!" Baku yelled back.

"No, she can't! My mother is a human!"

"What?!"

But Zero zipped ahead.

"I'll show you who can run! Wait 'til I clobber you, you cheater!" Baku shouted, quickening his pace.

The worker reached the door and raised the key but hesitated at the sight of five robots and a human boy running—and flying—his way. As they neared, he backed away, instinctively bringing up his arm to brace for impact.

The Gundam Force burst open the doors and flooded in. "Let your elders in, first!" "No chance, Bossa Nova! The fastest are the first in!" "Guys, you're about to step on me!" "Milady, let me—ow! Baku! Get your arm out of my face!"

The store clerk gaped as three robots tried to pile in at once while another snatched the human in their midst to safety. "Resolve the situation quickly and enter," Captain ordered, standing cautiously between Shute and the crowd. "We should not waste this gentleman's time with our quarrels."

"Um, what did you come here for?" the clerk asked.

"For popcorn!" Guneagle crowed, bouncing eagerly. His motion knocked his arguing comrades off-balance, and with a yelp, he crashed to the bottom of a totem pole topped by Baku and Zero. "Ow..." Guneagle wheezed.

The store clerk nervously chuckled. "Uh, sure, popcorn..." He walked away to let the customers sort themselves out.

"You two are heavy!" Guneagle whined.

Zero raised himself with his flight boosters and retorted indignantly, "How dare you say that! I am very lithe and slender! It's this Musha Gundam who eats too many riceballs!"

"Hey! I have a high metabolism!" "You're heavy compared to me, Shakespeare!"

They managed to untangle themselves and allow the rest of their comrades in by the time that the store clerk returned with a box lined with several folded bags. "Do you think this will be enough?"

Shute weaved past his metal friends to inspect the rows of encased kernels. "Yeah, this'll be more than enough! Thanks!"

Guneagle whooped and grabbed for the box.

"It must be purchased, first, Guneagle," Captain admonished.

Guneagle froze. "Oh! Uh, I don't have any money."

Shute fumbled through his pockets for a second before his eyes widened. "I left my allowance at home..."

"I have money," Aleda volunteered shyly, raising a hand in the back of the crowd.

"Awesome!" Guneagle cheered.

"But, it's rude to make the lady pay," Zero protested as paper bills formed in Aleda's hand, called forth from magical storage.

"No one's forcing her to pay," Baku corrected him.

"It's fine," Aleda said as she sifted through the wad of bills. "How much?" she asked the clerk.

"14 dollars."

She fished out a bill and passed it.

"Thank you. Take this," he handed Guneagle the box of popcorn bags, "and I'll be back with the change."

"You have a lot of cash money, Aleda," Shute said in awe.

"It's from nanny and babysitting jobs," she explained as the wad disappeared. "I haven't used money much since I joined the SDG, so it's been sitting there."

"Hey, Zero!" Baku hissed to the Knight Gundam with an elbow to the arm, "She can pay for a dinner date!"

"Why, you—! I am a gentleman!"

"Here's your change," the clerk interrupted loudly, dropping the coins in Aleda's palm.

"Thank you," the Gundamess said with a polite smile.

The store clerk's stretched smile nodded. "Thank you. I'm going to close the store, now. Good-bye!" He waved them to the door as he continued his loaded ramble, "Have a nice night! Stay safe! Don't stay out too late!" The Gundam Force was ushered out the door by his insistent pushes, and seconds later the latch clicked, the key clacked, and the clerk disappeared into the back of the store, leaving the odd assembly standing awkwardly in the night.

An engine revved, and the group jerked their gazes to a long shape beneath a tall parking lot lamp. "What y'all doin' standin' around?!" Gunbike barked. "Ya got the goods er not?"

Guneagle held up the box triumphantly. "We got it!"

"Good. Now git in the car before I make ya walk!"

They sprinted for Gunbike, eyes wide. "Yes, sir!"

...

When Ursula used her transformation magic and Ariel's captured voice to pose as the prince's rescuer, Zero growled angrily. The prince's seeming acceptance of Ursula finally caused him to blurt out, "How dare that witch steal Princess Ariel's rightful happiness!" Everyone turned to look at him incredulously. Zero's face heated up in embarrassment as he glanced around self-consciously.

"Zero, are you okay?" Baku asked.

"Uh…Y-yes, I'm fine, it's just…this movie is so engrossing that I…" Taking another look at the staring faces, he leaned back, flushing beet-red. "Never mind…"

As the movie approached the end, Aleda was surprised to find herself overcome by drowsiness. _Magic practice must have worn me out, again._ She yawned more and more, and her eyes would close momentarily.

"Are you tired, milady?" Zero whispered.

"No," Aleda fibbed, shaking her head.

"Very well. The movie is nearly done, anyway."

The Gundamess nodded wordlessly in reply.

On the screen, Prince Eric rammed giant Ursula through with a sinking ship. "I would say 'headshot,' except it's not," Guneagle commented. Then, as the witch groaned and screamed and flashes of light and explosions ensued, he drawled, "Explosions, yay~"

The prince woke up on the shore, and Ariel's father granted her legs to stay in the human world with her love. As Ariel rose out of the water to the prince and the lovers embraced, sobs came from the leftmost couch. "Baku," Zero scoffed under his breath. "That crybaby."

The wedding ensued, the final song reached its ending note, the credits rolled, and the lights turned on. "You have good taste in movies, milady," Zero said with a grin. But there was no reply from the Lady Gundamess, and he felt an odd pressure on his shoulder. Zero looked and saw, to his surprise, that Aleda had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulderguard. Heat filled his face. _What do I do, now?_ The others stirred from their seats, talking and laughing.

"I told Mom I was sleeping over at a friend's house," Shute said to Captain.

"So, you plan to sleep here, tonight?" Captain asked.

"Yeah, Chief Haro said it was okay." Shute danced, singing, "It's gonna be awesome~!"

"At some point, though, we must recharge."

"At 5 am!" Guneagle interjected with a fist-pump.

Amid the bustle, Zero gazed at the sleeping Gundamess with growing tenderness. Warmth spread through him, and affection tugged at his GunSoul. _If only I could touch her…_ Then, he mentally slapped himself. _No, do not think such things!_

"Wow, she fell asleep," Baku observed, coming near the Lacroans. "Should we wake her up?"

"No!" Zero said, a little more sharply than he had intended. "I mean…I will take her to her room. It's best to let her sleep."

"I see," Baku said with a raised brow.

The Winged Knight shifted to gently remove himself from her, but Aleda murmured in her sleep and nuzzled closer. Zero's face burned.

Baku chuckled. "You need me to help?"

"No, I believe I can handle this." Zero slid his arm that the Gundamess leaned on behind her back and pulled her close, simultaneously slipping his other underneath her legs, and, cradling her as gently as if she were his lost princess, he rose. "Good-night, Bakunetsumaru."

"Good night, Zero. Try not to have too much fun." Baku winked.

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face with my blade, tomorrow," the knight retorted.

"That's only if you can see my face before I defeat you," Baku returned.

Zero said good-bye's and good-night's to the rest of his comrades as he carried the Lady Gundamess out.

When he arrived at Aleda's bedroom, Zero stared in consternation at the keypad. Finally, he eased her legs down so he could have a free hand. The Gundamess stirred lightly and mumbled "My…ells…" while snuggling into his chest. Zero, trying to ignore the flutter in his GunSoul, punched in the password, picked her up again, and entered.

He went to her bed. For a moment, he paused to study her sleeping face, before he slid her under the blankets and carefully folded them around her.

Once he finished, Zero gazed at her a minute longer before darting out of the room. _Someday, my Little Wing, after I've defeated every Dark Axis foe that could endanger you, then I'll tell you... Please, wait for me until then._

...

Shute grumbled and swatted at the metal finger poking him. "I'm tired, Guneagle. Go to sleep."

"Partaaaaaay~" Guneagle sang as his eyescreens flickered and his joints dragged in a stuttering dance. A digital clock on the wall read "04:32."

Captain Gundam gently pried Guneagle away from Shute, who curled up on the couch where he lay and pulled a blanket over his head. "Guneagle, you are in need of recharge. Come to your recharge station, now."

"Awww, but Captaaaaaaain..."

"There is no one left who is willing to 'party'."

"*sigh* Yes, sir..."

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Quick note: Gunbike isn't given an official weight in the Gundam Wiki, so I took a look at the weights of the heaviest motorcycles and estimated that he'd be somewhere close to 1,000 pounds.

Thank you so much for reading, everyone! I hope to keep writing for you all in 2016! Happy New Year!

-Penelopi


End file.
